I did my best to prioritize and just pick out some easy access VA stuff en route to NC but it still took all day long.  Oh well, at least I finally made it to NC and with some luck, the sun will come out tomorrow.  It only peeked out now and then today.  No rain but very gloomy.

I have a ton of photos for the blog tonight.  And, yes, finally even some food!  Might as well get to it.   This motel is in Winchester, VA:

I made a quick stop in Shenandoah Caverns to see the giant cootie (photo over at Flickr tonight).  I thought you might also enjoy this one from the same place.  They’re at the American Celebration on Parade Museum which has stuff that has appeared in various parades from around the country.  According to the plaque, this “Lady Liberty” was covered with eucalyptus leaves when she appeared in the Rose Bowl Parade in 2000:

This guy was across the street at the Yellow Barn (an “agricultural adventure” museum):

I had been watching the deterioration of this old motel over the years.  Finally, someone wrote me in 2008 to say it had been torn down.  But no — it was still there.  Here’s what it used to look like as the Star-Gables (sorry lousy image):
http://www.agilitynut.com/p/star.jpg

and today:

Also, in Harrisonburg, what appears to be an Art Deco era billboard sign.  It’s two-faced with each face tilted slightly towards the road (slight V shape):

I’ve emailed back and forth many times with Mark Cline who has created countless fiberglass statues displayed around the country.  Every time I’d stopped by his “studio” in Natural Bridge (the Enchanted Castle Studios), he was never there.  Today was finally my lucky day.  What can I say about him and all his creations.  He’s a true artist and genius.  I’m glad he’s found a way to make a living doing this stuff and the Shenandoah Valley is a much livelier place because of him.  There are lots of articles written about him on-line so I’ll just drop a couple links here if you’re interested in reading more:
http://www.enchantedcastlestudios.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cline

Here he is with a replica of the Enchanted Forest (Ellicott City, MD) dragon:

and with his self-portrait (molded) as Hannibal:

With a pinball wizard sort of character (Jack Nicholson “Joker” head):

and here’s just one of hundreds of other statues scattered about the yard:

There’s also a nicely-done billboard on Rte. 11 advertising two of his other “attractions”:

On to Roanoke.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pizza depicted in neon:

Some nice buildings — made nicer by momentary sunlight:

I’m always relieved when some things don’t change.  The Texas Tavern is one such place.  And although I’m vegetarian, I bought a slider (or whatever the Tavern calls them) to go for the dogs as a treat.  I got it with everything for them for under $1.50 I think.  It was a good as gold to them.  I split this miniature burger into about 44 pieces so forcing them to savor. 

The Towers Shopping Center, so named because of the two radio towers which stand in its parking lot:

Lots of goodness here:

Finally, into NC — a few photos from Rocky Mount.  An adorable icon at Odell’s Sandwich Shop.  In addition, to the big restaurant-sized building, it is also a drive-in with car hops:

Jaw-droppingly great:

This drive-in is now known as the West Pine Kitchen.  I was lured in by the sign for “Deep Fried Snickers”.  I figured I was far enough south that I should consume as much fried food as possible.  It was beyond words great.  And yes, it comes with powdered sugar on top!  They also had deep fried Oreos — and deep fried pickles.  But I didn’t have the courage for the latter.

Need I say it.  More rain, more grey.  BUT the forecasters are saying by noon tomorrow there will be, what was it called – yeah, SUN!  It’s nearly 1am and I’m way behind in getting this post up.  Lots of photos, too, so let’s cut the chit chat short tonight.

Traffic – lots of that.  Not one but two police funerals with thousands of policemen on motorcycles.  Which makes me wonder, I’ve never seen a woman officer on a bike – why’s that?  No time to digress now.  No trouble with the ignition key since yesterday.  In fact, it slides in and out better than ever. 

First off — I forgot to include this photo from yesterday in Baltimore.  I’ve never quite seen an array of Big Brother cameras like.  I’m not sure which are traffic related and which are just general surveillance.  Or maybe they are all just for show?  I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of this stuff.  Or not – as the cameras get smaller and less noticeable.

On with today’s stuff.  In Wheaton, came across this tribute-y painted wall mural – with a Little Tavern in it.  Spencer, are you out there?

And just across the street – for another loyal blog-follower – proof that there were Marina-esque Safeways here in the East.  Although, as you can see, this one is quite blatantly closed:

A couple cool soldier statues — haven’t seen this type before — at Ranger Surplus in Bethesda.  This was the nicer of the two.  Life-sized if you’re my size (I’m only 5′ tall) — otherwise maybe a little short.

Dogs, you want dogs?  Prepare yourself for doggie overload.  I’ll divide up the batches so it’s not quite as bad.  Some of the dogs are settling down.

and some are not (a momentary lapse in the bark-fest):

Although even sometimes the devil-spawn takes a nap:

This appears to be an old fire call box – although the guts are all gone now.  In DC:

I have been taking these big March trips for awhile now and have many memories (and photos) of these dancing Liberty Tax people from various cities.  It’s become a habit to shoot one per trip.  This woman in DC was really getting down with her dancing before I stopped with camera.  Then became all hiding and worried.  Never quite got the moves back even after I explained the photo was “just for me”, a souvenir of my travels, etc.  But at least she got back to smiling.  Now, is there a Flickr group for dancing Liberty Tax people?  There’s just gotta be.

If the S&S Shoe Repair in DC isn’t a historical landmark inside and out, it should be!  Established in the 1920s they told me.

Doggie batch #2 — but mixed with historic tombstones to make it more palatable for you non-dog-lovers.  Whenever in DC, I make a pit-stop here at the Congressional Cemetery.  Dogs are allowed off-leash here.  I know I posted some photos of my guys here last year or the year before.  This was Grem’s first time here and the bars surrounding the place would be very penetrable if she desired.  So the lucky girl got to wear her humongous zapping collar.  The need didn’t present itself to use it though and she had a blast running the vast expanses and running right back each time I called.

Anyhow – more about the cemetery and the off-leash dog stuff:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Congressional_Cemetery
http://www.cemeterydogs.org/

You should really be a member to use the “dog park” but I admit I’m not.  It’s time I made a contribution though and I’m making a note of it.

That’s Nik galloping around.  With this super bouncy ball, he doesn’t need me and I barely saw him.  I know that he keeps track of where I’m at though.

That’s Grem doing a run-by at center and Fixie sniffing something at right:

No separate photos of Grip who was pretty much glued to me since I was packing cheddar cheese.

OK a couple non-doggie shots:

One more shot in DC.  I’m a sucker for buildings that use stone like this:

And lastly (hey, did I not take any sign pictures for you? If you’re feeling deprived don’t forget about the agilitynut stream over at Flickr), a smidgen of food for you.  Sorry, no junk food photos today.  Still working on my lemon creme cookies from home.  But let me sing the praises of my beloved WaWa.  Let me count the ways of how much I love this gas station chain.  I love that every single one of them has the bathroom on the left — in and out, and back on the road.  They all have the cash registers that make sounds “ka-ching!”.  And “The Wa” has wonderful snacks.  Here’s just one of my faves (bo-ring to you all I’m sure):

The hummus with pita slices ain’t bad either.  But they also have a lot of other fresh stuff in convenience packs like this.  Most gas stations have nothing.  Yogurt.  A banana if you’re lucky.  I’m also a huge fan of Sheetz – another big gas station chain in the PA / MD / VA area.  I’m crazy about their computerized sandwich-making system.  So George Jetson – to me anyway.

2am – gosh.  Here’s the plan then.  I dumped a lot of coffee in my system tonight (can ya tell?) and drove into VA a bit.  Painfully skipping stuff on my list.  Tomorrow, will be even more painful as I have to tighten up and just hit some priority stuff en route to NC.  I want to show NC my love this time — probably 4 days worth.  And VA will have to get a special trip all by itself sometime later this year or next.

The rain stopped for the most part around noon which was a terrific change!  But still the sun never came out so I hope you like photos with grey backgrounds.  Traffic was horrendous in downtown Baltimore because of some running event going on.  A St. Pattie’s Day related thing from what I could tell as there were green outfits and garland-y necklaces.  Everybody on the street very happy – everybody in cars, miserable.

I’m now officially about two days behind – already!  Virginia, as much as I love you, you’re really going to get skipped for the most part.  I promise to make it up to you next spring.  I’ve got DC stuff on the schedule for tomorrow and then I’ll have to painfully prioritize the VA stuff so I can get us into NC soon.

Some noteworthy events.  Someone (not me!) had a little bout of diarrhea.  All I know is I came back into the van after taking a photo and LORDY!  I did what I could with Fantastic and paper towels and put the windows down with rain coming in for awhile.  But I’ll be scouting for a laundromat tonight.  I suspect it was Nik who kept hassling me while I was driving and I thought it was just boredom and lack of exercise.  Sorry buddy.

The other weird thing was when I went to turn the engine off in the afternoon, I couldn’t get the key out of the ignition.  I could turn the engine on and off but I could not get the key out of the draining battery mode.  There were only two options:  a) engine on or b) draining.  I tried different gears.  I tried moving the van forward and backward.  Minor panic since I realized it would be futile to find a mechanic in downtown Baltimore on a Sunday afternoon.  I continued on my photo-taking journey and figured I’d just have to park it and get towed in the morning to a garage with a dead battery.  But since then, I’ve had no problem at all.  Still, I will be very careful where I turn the engine off just in case I can’t get the key back in or start up again.  I also noticed today that when I put my flashers on, which are on the steering column, I have to pull the buttom backwards and up.  Very stiff.  So maybe there is something going on inside the steering column?  I might stop & get this checked out tomorrow.  But the key has been moving in and out like butter since the incident.

Enough text – on with the photos!  This sign cheered me up at the start of this dreary day.  Backlit plastic put to good use (could live without the LED though).  From Hagerstown:

A pretty pastel sign in Catonsville:

On into Baltimore — bumped into a former Fotomat.  Not being used for anything apparently.  Note the odd little addition:

More Fotomats, if you’re unfamiliar:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fotomat/

Adaptive reuse:  use-ta-be an IHOP – now what must be the world’s largest Enterprise office:

I was glad to see the Cafe Hon giant flamingo.  Last I’d heard, it had been taken down:
http://wjz.com/local/cafe.hon.flamingo.2.1259385.html

A nice old pharmacy with vitrolite panels:

I deliberately cropped the bottom off this photo.  It was too painful to look at what they did to that part of the building.  At least the top was spared:

A former White Tower held together with spit and glue (note “carry-out” equals “take-out” in this part of the world):

What a White Tower should look like if you don’t know:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/wt2.html

A former drive-in from 1947 and last I saw it, it was an ice cream place —
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/md.html
Now, it just seems very sad, even all spruced up, as a non-food use, used car dealership.  Note the hamburger bulb sign (shown at that link) is also gone now:

A pretty facade to pick us up.  From Laurel, MD – still in business.  Great freestanding metal letters.  And even if the neon is gone from the sign, it’s nice to see that they’re still keeping up with the paint:

And lastly, a view of Baltimore’s Domino Sugar factory & sign from across the harbor.  I found this great, somewhat skanky spot to run the dogs.  Too cold to go in the water I’m sure but they could have (and probably caught some waterborne disease).  There was a big gravely lot and even some grass to the right and not a soul around.

Yes, it’s true.  I haven’t included any photos of the dogs OR food yet.  I will though.  I’m still actually getting by with food brought from home.  Gotta cut corners somewhere – these trips are expensive!  So I don’t think you really want to see my cheese and peanut butter sandwiches (no, not together, but that might actually be good).  I’m due for some junk food and the dogs are demanding a long run somewhere.  Hopefully, tomorrow, in the sun!

Not exactly rowing our way — but it sure felt like it! The rain did not stop for a single minute. Not once. Until the sun went down. Argggggh! And it rained even harder than yesterday. My planned route through the mountains from Thurmont to Hagerstown was police barricaded off — impassable due to flooding. Yes, the rivers were wickedly wild everywhere we went. And yes, I’m being careful. I’m not one of those fools that tries to “gun it” and make it across water on the road. You won’t be seeing us on the news. Here’s a threatening little stream in Thurmont, MD. All that separates it from this house is a little concrete wall. When I drove by, the family looked like they were calmly watching TV. Sheesh.

But I’m skipping ahead.  The day started in NJ.  In Stratford, I passed this Safeway-esque building gone Goodwill.  At least I don’t think this was every a Safeway based on the shape of the sign at the left.  I’m ashamed that I don’t know what this was and am relying on my food store junkie friends to chime in.

Can I get a bumper sticker that says “I brake for bowling pin signs”?  Can we sell them at the SCA Conference and make a ton of money?  This one was in Stratford as well:

This simple yet elegant pin sign has apparently weathered many eras and names and now has to tolerate flashing red obnoxiousness beneath it.  Now there’s a run on sentence that I’m not going to fix.  Here’s something I’ve never understood.  How can cities get away with prohibiting neon signs and forcing their removal for being roadside “distractions” when what could be more distracting than changing-text LED signs?  And who’s going to be distracted by a neon sign when they’re already completely distracted by their cell phones while driving.  Don’t get me started!

What’s not to love about Fornaro’s Liquor in Pennsville, NJ:

The Penn Jewelers sign is also in Pennsville.  Until one second before I took this photo, there was a blackbird in the broken gap in the diamond at the left.  Damn!  I love getting birds into shots for scale.  Better rush if you want to see or shoot this sign as the building is now vacant.

Moving on to Maryland.  If you grew up in the Churchville area, this is probably heartbreaking.  This used to be the site of both the Big M Drive-in Restaurant and Movie Theatre.  It closed five years ago and this is what remains. 

OK — this is getting to be a bit of a downer — maybe it was all the weather, ya think?  So let’s see if I can end on a cheerier note.  This interesting building (house?) was in Middletown.  I assume it was a blacksmith’s / grinding place from the grinding wheel and the giant anvil on the wall.  The crescent moon shutters are sweet.  But the knife over the door was what had me backing up dangerously on a very busy highway.  (Don’t worry!)

In case I forget to mention it on the 17th, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  This place is in Thurmont:

Surprise! I snuck out a day early to get this trip started. I had an errand to run in South NJ so I took the day off from work and got a few hours start on my list. The weather is really horrible, crummy, lousy, awful with unrelenting rain. The forecast is for another three days of the same. A rather depressing and frustrating way to start a trip. Tim Gunn would say, “make it work”. The traffic added an additional challenge today. Still, I got some decent photos for the blog & Flickr.

The dogs were overly hyped and barking constantly. I made a few pit stops so they could run but it was obviously not enough. The van and my pants are already nice and muddy on Day 1. The dogs usually settle into the road routine on the 3rd day. Til then, I’m doing a lot yelling and warning Grem that I’ll pull over and put that collar on her. Gulp, the threat of the citronella barking collar is usually enough to quiet her down. For a couple minutes anyway. MinPins were born to bark.

So let’s move on to the photos – the reason that you’re all here! Since the weather was so crappy, I focused on gathering goodies for the blog rather than the important stuff for the website & Flickr.

First up, a couple side-by-side motel signs in Absecon or Galloway. Google can’t decide which. The Ten Acres (although spelled Tenacres on the sign) has busted neon but it looks like they’re keeping the paint up.

And next door – don’t know the name but I doubt it was really the “Poo Motel” (grin). This wooden sign is pretty much buried in the trees and probably what’s holding it up. The motel itself is long gone. Note you can see the Ten Acres sign in the distance.

A rather eerie mannequin driving this covered wagon at Pistol Pete’s Saloon in Pleasantville:

A nice Chevy bow tie “scaffold sign” on top of an updated showroom in Egg Harbor Township. I’m betting that this one is still lit at night:

Also in Egg Harbor Township – love this guy! The holes suggest he had neon at one time. Or maybe, from their irregularity, he was just the victim of target practice:

From Mays Landing. The Custard Castle is closed for the season or maybe just sensibly closed on Fridays when it rains. Love the roof detail:

A gardening cowboy from Hogbin’s Nursery in Williamstown. I don’t know if he’s old or new. But it doesn’t matter since he’s fantastic. A metal sign, gaining a bit more rust today. That’s Sparkle waving “hi” from the right.

Also in Williamstown, I went to check out this “mini Pebble Palace”. It really was mini — just this one little clump of stone sculptures. But still kinda cool. I imagine it has or had some fountain action.

I have tried unsuccessfully three times over the years, including today, to find that other, larger Pebble Palace in Deptford. All my sources say on Rte. 47, just a few feet off the road. I’ve scrutinized the recent photos with the white house and drive up and back far, far in both directions. Still can’t find it. Can anyone provide a cross street or address for this place?

I’ve been wanting to see the “Nipper Building” in Camden for a long time now.  Although the stained glass windows in the tower are recent replacements, they’re still very neat.  This RCA building was one of several here – the others were demolished. The building now houses the Victor Lofts.  Here’s some more about it:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7426
I’ve also got some Nipper statues over at my website if you’re interested:
http://agilitynut.com/critters/dogs.html

Quite a paint job on this bowling alley in Brooklawn!  Something tells me, not the original colors.  Although the sign is missing both bulbs and neon, it still looks pretty cheery in lemon yellow.

I’d love to know the history of this motel in Brooklawn and see photos of it before the Red Carpet Inn bland-ified the rooms.  There were hints of little turrets on the buildings around the big courtyard layout.  I also can’t figure out what the screens on this sign tower are about.  Postcards anyone?

One more sign before I go – the Pennant East rock club in Bellmawr. The sign is evidently from 1992 – I would’ve guessed older. The club was originally Dick Lee’s from 1956-1992. What did we do before Google!

So here’s the plan for the next few days. Tomorrow, I’ll be starting on MD. Probably about 3 days in MD and VA and then on to NC for about 3 days. I’ve been to these states many times before but stuff has piled up on my “To See/Shoot” list. Also, lots of ancient & ugly photos at my website for these states that really need reshooting and I’ll try to get to a lot of that, too.  Do a sundance for me, will ya?